Large-School Cinderella Candidates

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we get closer to the postseason, I want to highlight some large and small school Cinderalla team candidates.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marshfield</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers have had an up-and-down year, mainly due to injuries. [player_tooltip player_id='780361' first='Ayana' last='Bousum'] is an uber-talented wing who missed about a month and most of the conference season. In that time, Marshfield got contributions from kids like Ashley Grancorvitz, who stepped up in the absence of Bousum. They're a group from the valley who's in a similar position to Wausau West last season, being a 7-seed, and if they win in their regional semi-final game, taking a multi-hour bus ride to the edge of the western part of the state, to play a team from the border with Minnesota. Now that they're healthy, the Tigers could find themselves in Sectionals and a game with an FVA foe, much like Wausau West last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kettle Moraine</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lasers are coming off two gold balls, and as they've reorganized their program, they've had some highs and lows. However, they've been battles tested in the Classic 8, and they're playing some good basketball heading into the postseason. [player_tooltip player_id='602360' first='Keegan' last='Lodes'] is a matchup problem for any team in their sectional. She's a 5-11 wing with plenty of athleticism and has played a significant role in their full-court and half-court defense. [player_tooltip player_id='767268' first='Emily' last='Gomez'] has stepped into a prominent offensive role and collapsed defenses by getting into the paint. The Lasers also have other role kids who play their role at a high level. [player_tooltip player_id='618804' first='Maddie' last='Schopf'] can make six or seven threes in a game, and [player_tooltip player_id='338955' first='Lola' last='Bond'] is as good at playing in an uptempo environment as anyone and initiates the Laser offense. I also believe they match up well with Oregon in a potential Sectional-Semifinal game at Waunakee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Oak Creek</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If you ask anyone in the Southeast Conference, they'll tell you how prepared Oak Creek is for anyone they play. I've seen their staff attend the Muskego-Franklin game in the first week of the season to watch the other two favorites in their sectional. After losing multiple players like [player_tooltip player_id='509709' first='Lola' last='Prendergast'] and [player_tooltip player_id='465922' first='Megan' last='Geason'], who seemed poised for prominent roles, they took their lumps as they refound their footing. They've been the only team to beat Franklin in the SEC, and they did it handily on the road. They're playing their best basketball heading into the postseason, and I picked them to even come out of this sectional as a 5-seed. The minutes they get from [player_tooltip player_id='498932' first='Ava' last='C Hanson'] and Emma Schmidt have been outstanding, and then having [player_tooltip player_id='815502' first='Savannah' last='Jones'] make shots, Ashlyn Bode rebound at a high rate, and some other bench kids thrive in more prominent roles suggests they're ready to make a deep run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Homestead</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It feels like it's now or never for Homestead. We can look back to years past and talk about how this group has fallen short of the team they could be, and judging by their postseason results, that'd be fair. However, this group could find themselves at the Resch Center this year. Yes, they're under-seeded for a team of their caliber and were the group most unfairly treated by the WIAA formula, in my opinion. Regardless of their seed, they have enough talent to hang with any five-person lineup in their sectional. [player_tooltip player_id='329589' first='Madison' last='Fitzgibbon']-[player_tooltip player_id='338951' first='Natalie' last='Mueller']-[player_tooltip player_id='448303' first='Grace' last='Zortman']-[player_tooltip player_id='209594' first='Katelyn' last='Odem']-[player_tooltip player_id='338947' first='Lauren' last='Strifling'] is a lineup that can hang with anyone. If they get over the hump and get to Sectionals, they're capable of beating any of the top three seeds in this sectional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->